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Matt Gaetz Accuses Kevin McCarthy of ‘Working For the Democrats;’ House Votes on Motion to Oust Him as Speaker Update: Motion Passes

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The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday afternoon on whether Speaker Kevin McCarthy would remain speaker, after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced a motion “declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant” on the House floor, Monday. (Update: House votes to oust McCarthy 216 to 210. McCarthy announced Tuesday night that he won’t seek to reclaim his post as House speaker. ).

 

Gaetz told reporters Monday night that McCarthy not only violated the agreement he made with a group of Republican holdouts in January, “he accelerated the instances of breach.” The congressman said he didn’t feel intimidated by fellow Republicans who object to his stance. “I feel the judgement of history,” he declared.

I feel the weight of that. I worry that when the history books are written about this country going down, that my name is going to be on the Board of Directors here, and if this country’s going down and we’re losing the dollar,  I am going down fighting. down fighting.

Gaetz went on to say that if the Democrats want McCarthy, they can have him.

Tuesday morning, Gaetz accused McCarthy of “working for the Democrats the whole time” on the debt limit and continuing resolution (CR), as well as protecting Joe Biden’s wayward son Hunter.

“You’re blocking the subpoena to Hunter Biden,” the Florida congressman wrote on X.

Gaetz discussed his frustrations with McCarthy over the Biden impeachment inquiry in an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures,” last week.

“If Kevin McCarthy was actually serious about pursuing the Bidens, he would have sent Hunter Biden a subpoena by now,” he said.

Earlier in September, Gaetz wrote on X: “@SpeakerMcCarthy, after eight months of inaction, I have taken the liberty of drafting a subpoena to Hunter Biden. It simply requires your date and signature. Millions of Americans are wondering if you’re serious.”

After meeting with the Republican conference Tuesday morning, McCarthy told reporters that he was confident he would prevail. However, only five Republicans need to join all of the Democrats in voting against him for McCarthy to be removed.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R- Tenn.) announced on Tuesday that he will vote with Gaetz.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who ran for Speaker last November, also announced that he would vote yes on the motion to vacate because of McCarthy’s failure to “rein in federal spending.”

Congressman Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) hinted on X that he was open to voting with Gaetz to remove McCarthy.

 

According to CBS News, McCarthy told Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries Tuesday morning that he didn’t think he would have to rely on Democrat votes to retain the speakership.

Most Democrats may not be inclined to help McCarthy. At a caucus meeting Tuesday morning, Jeffries played a clip from the speaker’s appearance Sunday on “Face the Nation,” in which he blamed Democrats for nearly shutting down the government. In fact, more Democrats than Republicans voted for to the bill to extend government funding for 45 days.

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal said her party would be unanimous in voting against McCarthy.

“We are following our leader, and we are not saving Kevin McCarthy,” she said.

Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) said he thinks there will be a direct vote on the motion around 2 p.m.

In a statement Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis decried what he called the “failure theater” happening in Washington D.C.

Gaetz argued passionately in favor of his motion to vacate the Speaker’s seat.

Update:

The Motion to table the vote on the removal Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House was defeated.

Update:

The motion has received enough GOP votes to vacate the Speaker’s seat:

1. Rep. Burchett (Texas)
2. Rep. Buck (Colo.)
3. Rep Biggs (Ariz.)
4. Rep. Crane (Ariz.)
5. Rep. Gaetz (Fla.)
6. Rep. Good (Va.)
7. Rep. Mace (S.C.)
8. Rep. Rosendale (Mont.)

The final vote was 116 to 210 in favor of ousting McCarthy. The Speaker’s seat is now officially vacant.

McCarthy announced Tuesday night that he won’t seek to reclaim his post as House speaker.

“I will not run for speaker again. I’ll have the [Republican] conference pick somebody else,” he told reporters following a closed-door meeting with GOP lawmakers.

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About Debra Heine

Debra Heine is a conservative Catholic mom of six and longtime political pundit. She has written for several conservative news websites over the years, including Breitbart and PJ Media.

Photo: UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 3: Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is seen after a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Gaetz filed a motion to vacate against Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Monday. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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